WHY TELL OTHERS ABOUT YOUR MOEBIUS?

This is an issue that comes up frequently for those of us with Moebius.  If you are interviewing with an employer...or have a new boss at work...or have met a new possibly-could-be-a-significant-other...or meet a new friend--the question arises:  should I tell him/her about my Moebius?  This issue came up just the other day with some of my friends on Facebook.  It's a good question.  There are no easy answers or one-size-fits-all solution.  But here's what I think:

I think you SHOULD tell others about your Moebius.  Don't be shy or hold back.  Tell it.  Here's why:

1] Look, others have eyes.  They can see.  They can see you look a little "different", and maybe sound different.  They're going to wonder.  There's no way around it.  So why not remove the mystery?

2] And anyway, look--there's nothing to be ashamed of, and there's no reason to be shy or secretive about it.  Your Moebius is part of you.  It's who you are, it's who we are in this community.  It's doesn't mean there's anything "wrong" with you, or that you have some kind of "defect."  You're not confessing to anything bad.  You're just saying--this is part of me, this is part of what makes me who I am.  This is me.  Embrace it!

3] And I really think that most people, when you tell them about it, aren't going to look down at you.  They're not going to reject you.  Instead, they're going to think that it says something _good_ about you--that it's good that you can be honest about yourself, that it takes courage to talk about your difference in this way, that talking about it shows you have guts and fortitude and self-confidence.  And all those are good things.

Look, I'm a teacher.  I teach history at the college level.  I sometimes teach classes with 150 students in them.  And every semester, on the first day of class, I spend about 10 minutes talking to them about the fact that I have Moebius Syndrome.  Because again--they're going to wonder.  And I do sound a little different.  So I talk about it briefly...and I try to be funny, too.  For example:  what's the best benefit about having Moebius?  Answer:  if you're playing poker, you have one heck of a poker face.  Hah!

And I've never had ANY negative response from doing that.  Indeed, students I think always have a positive reaction from it.  You will, too.

Sorry by the way I haven't blogged as much this week.  Speaking of teaching, fall semester is about to start and I've just been overloaded.  But I'm slowly digging out of it.  Fall is coming!  An exciting time...